Elizabeth Baker of Washington, D.C., and her husband, Gary, chat while her brother, pilot Charlie Sadler of Fulshear, completes a preflight check before takeoff at Weiser Airpark in Cypress. The airport is popular with pilots, with every hangar rented, manager Clyde Allison says. Elizabeth Baker of Washington, D.C., and her husband, Gary, chat while her brother, pilot Charlie Sadler of Fulshear, completes a preflight check before takeoff at Weiser Airpark in Cypress. The airport is popular with pilots, with every hangar rented, manager Clyde Allison says. less

Elizabeth Baker of Washington, D.C., and her husband, Gary, chat while her brother, pilot Charlie Sadler of Fulshear, completes a preflight check before takeoff at Weiser Airpark in Cypress. The airport is ... more

Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance

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Eric Young, left, of Katy goes over his flight plan with instructor Sharfaraz Ahmed before a lesson at The Flight School at Weiser Airpark.
Eric Young, left, of Katy goes over his flight plan with instructor Sharfaraz Ahmed before a lesson at The Flight School at Weiser Airpark. less

Eric Young, left, of Katy goes over his flight plan with instructor Sharfaraz Ahmed before a lesson at The Flight School at Weiser Airpark.
Eric Young, left, of Katy goes over his flight plan with instructor ... more

Weiser co-owned the airport with his late brother Robert. The Weiser family had a dairy farm on 165 acres on the east side of Huffmeister in 1944. The farm expanded in 1951, when the Weisers purchased 103 additional acres on the west side of the street, which contained a small grass airstrip then called F.H. Jackson Airport.

In 1963, the Weiser brothers built a row of 10 hangars, installed a gas pump and renamed the property Weiser Airpark. The next year, they added 10 more rows of hangars. The airport, which totals 31 acres, was separated from the dairy farm by a fence to keep cattle off the runway.

The main runway was paved in 1980 and runway lights were installed. In 2000 a self-serve credit card system was installed in the fuel station so customers and visitors could access the gas pump around the clock.

Today, the facility stands as an institution in the Cypress area and has produced a number of pilots who are now captains with major airlines.

The previous dairy farm property is still used as farmland, now mainly to produce hay.

Allison said that the airport remains popular with pilots.

"Every hangar we have is full," he said. "Every hangar is rented and every tie-down, too."

The airport is not as busy as in years past, Allison added.

"People can't afford to fly like they used to," he said. "It's gotten expensive. But we still have a lot of people learning how to fly."

The Flight School offers all levels of training. It can prepare students to be certified flight instructors and airline transport pilots and also provides training for seaplanes and floatplanes. Individuals may also rent aircraft at the school.

Dispatcher Steve Shaddox was a student at the school before he started working there.

"It was something I always wanted to do," he said. "I've always been interested in aviation. I came out here and learned to fly."

The school opened in 2008.

"At the time, it was one of two schools here on the airfield," Shaddox said. "One school closed, and this one has been going ever since."

Last year, the school was purchased by Sharfaraz Ahmed, who also serves as an instructor.

Shaddox said that a number of people wander into the school after seeing the sign or visiting the website.

"We can get them in the air right away," he said.

The Discovery Flights are a popular way to start. The trips lasts about 35 minutes on a four-seat plane. An instructor explains how the aircraft works and conducts the flight, allowing students to manipulate controls when the instructor feels it is safe.

"You go up and the instructor hands the controls to you," Shaddox said. "You see what it's like to take control of the aircraft."

Private pilot certification is the basic training option.

"That's the very first step in learning to fly small aircraft," Shaddox said.

Once the course is completed, students sign up for instrument rating, which teaches them how to fly when sight is obstructed by clouds.

"If someone has an aviation career in mind, you can get a commercial license," Shaddox said. "Then you can become a certified flight instructor and teach others to fly."

He said that students come from all walks of life.

"We get a lot of people who have always had in the back of their minds that they wanted to learn," he said. "We also get a lot of young people who want to make this their career."

Shaddox said most students get hooked on flying.

"It's a feeling of freedom," he said. "One mile of runway will get you anywhere."